Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews concludes for 2015 with Landon Cassill, who drives for Hillman Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series.

Q: If NASCAR allowed you to listen to music while you were racing, would you want to?

A: No, not in a race. I like to get in that zone and be focused. Sometimes you get in that zone and get so focused that you don’t even realize what you’re doing — you’re just doing it. I have hooked my iPod into my radio harness before at Daytona testing, and that’s kind of fun. I wouldn’t do it in normal testing, but just in superspeedway testing where you’re just doing single-car runs, I’ll have my iPhone in the car and when I’m in the pits and they’re making a change, I’ll plug it in and listen to something — like I’ll watch YouTube videos. That’s kind of fun.

Q: Where did your first paycheck come from?

A: I worked at my dad’s car dealership as a kid (in Iowa). I had to punch a time clock and all that. I’d clean cars or work in the detail department in the body shop.

But I had to build my own race cars when we were racing, and my dad paid me 10% of the prize money we won. That was money for a high schooler to have like an allowance or something; we’re not talking about a lot of money. Typically it was a $500 win and I’d get $50. The most money I ever won was $10,000, so I got a grand of it. I thought I was making big money when I did that.

But my first real paycheck as an adult from something other than the family business was Hendrick Motorsports.

Q: Who is an autograph you got as a kid that seemed to be a big deal to you at the time?

A: I was never a big autograph person, but one I really loved when I was a kid was I met Harry Gant at a Manheim dealer convention and got his autograph. I think I still have it. As of the last time I went to my parents’ house, it was in my old bedroom — which was the same as when I graduated high school.

Do you remember talking to him?

Very vaguely, but there is a picture of me with him, getting the autograph.

Q: Where’s a place you’ve never been that you’d like to go visit?

A: I’d like to go to China. My wife and I want to travel somewhere exotic or crazy, and I’d like to go to China.

Q: Do people ever accuse you of being addicted to your phone?

A: Yes. Every day.

Are they right?

Yes. I have a problem. I feel bad for my wife, because she says my phone is my girlfriend and I need to let it go. And she’s right.

Q: If a genie promised you a championship in exchange for never being able to do your favorite hobby again, would you accept that offer?

A: So I couldn’t do any triathlons ever again?

Correct.

Well, I’ve committed my life to motorsports and my entire life’s dream has been to become a Cup champion. So triathlon is a lot of fun, but I still love racing more.

Q: What’s your preferred method of dealing with an angry driver after a race?

A: Let him stew over it. I don’t do the calls and texts and stuff. I used to, but I get so tired of it. I typically give people the benefit of the doubt and I know people don’t always think the same way I do. But if somebody boots me out of the way at Martinsville, I’m not going to chase him down and try to wreck him. That’s racing at Martinsville. That’s what happens. And that person didn’t try to put a target on me and say, “I’m going to screw him up.” They’re just trying to make the best for their day, you know?

If it’s something that happens to the point it’s unnecessary, I’ll usually retaliate to some extent. But in general, I think it’s stupid when we text each other on Mondays and say, “Hey sorry, I didn’t mean to” (uses mocking voice). If you’re explaining yourself, you’re losing.

But all the veteran drivers complained recently because Joey Logano didn’t text or call Matt Kenseth after the Kansas Speedway incident, and they said that partially justified Kenseth’s actions at Martinsville. Don’t you worry about that?

I don’t think Joey owed Matt a text or a call. But if I were Joey, I would have handled that win a little more humbly. Even a public apology in victory lane would have been something I would have done. I wouldn’t have called Matt, but if I saw him in the garage I might have grabbed him and said, “Hey man, I hope you know I was just trying to win the race and that was hard racing.”

But I thought the Kansas incident was hard racing. That’s the epitome of stock car racing: An aggressive move to protect the lead, an aggressive move to get the lead, one guy spins out, one guy gets the trophy, the other guy is mad and they’re both right. That’s stock car racing.

Joey could have helped himself by maybe not gloating about it for three weeks. He probably could have been a little smarter that way, but I mostly find myself on Team Joey in that whole scenario.

Q: If you had a time machine and you could travel to any year and race, where would you go?

A: Nobody says they’d go forward, do they?

Only one driver answered that way all year.

Who said that?

Greg Biffle.

That’s a hard question. I think about going backward and I’m like, “Man, racing was really cool in the 80s and we all talk about how cool aero was back then.” But racing was pretty dangerous. I don’t think I would have been a good race car driver back then. It was pretty serious. And in the 90s, too. There’s no easy time.

I’ve never really wished to look to the future, but I’d love to know what racing would look like 20 or 30 years from now. I would not have thought I’d answer this question like that, but I’d love to know what kind of cars we’re using and what kind of tracks we’re racing on. I’m thinking it would be crazy different. Like someone is going to build some multi-tiered racetrack and this extremely bizarre venue and it’s going to be entertaining.

I’m going to sound like an idiot when this goes to print. They’re going to be like, “What is Landon talking about?” (Laughs)

A: I’d rather fly. I hate sitting in traffic. I like to get places in a hurry.

Q: I’ve been asking each person to give me a question for the next interview. The last interview was with David Gilliland, and he wanted to know: When did you first start driving and what made you want to start to drive?

A: Wow, David. I’ve never gotten a question like that, ever in my life. (Laughs)

I just wanted to go fast.

Seriously, though.

I have to give credit to my parents. When you’re 4, 5, 6 years old, you’re not making decisions. Your parents guide you and ask you, “Do you want to play soccer? Basketball?” But somehow they chose to give me a go-kart. They chose to get me into racing. They were the ones that put me in that scenario.

I watched every NASCAR race and taped them. When they had a rainout and it was on Monday, I freaked out if my mom didn’t record it while I was at school. I was just obsessed with NASCAR. They saw that in me. If they hadn’t noticed that and gotten me into it, I probably would have just played high school sports and been a NASCAR fan my whole life.

So I had nothing to do with that, other than that’s what I was into. Which, as a parent, I hope I can do the same for my kids.

But you were clearly interested in racing, at least.

My dad always says by the time I was 3 years old, I had all the drivers and cars and sponsors memorized. There was a guy who worked at my dad’s car dealership and we used to play this game where I’d go into his office and name NASCAR drivers until we couldn’t think of one.

Q: And if the 12 Questions returns next year with a new version, do you have a question I can ask the first driver of 2016?

A: I have a good one, actually. I’ve been thinking about this. So we’re all excited to have a low downforce package, and all of us drivers think it fits our driving style. But it clearly can’t fit everyone’s driving style. It can’t be good for all of us. So ask them: Does it really fit your driving style, and why?